Process of making rubber tires and tubes.



I V P. A. MAGOWAN. PROCESS OF MAKING RUBBER TIRES AND TUBES. APPLICATION IYILED NOV. 10, 1906. RENEWED FEB. 27, 1909.

917,958. 7 Patented Apr. 13, 1909,

. @Mni [72/114 19? Mayan an.

A v By 549 I f y Flinbllli A. MAGGWAN, F NEW YORK, N. Y.,, ASSIG'NOR TO MULTIPLEX'TUBE All?) TIRECQMe nnrrao STATES. regress? carton PART, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A (DQJRPORATION' OF NEW JERSEY.

BRDCESS QF MAKINGRUBBER TIRES TUBES.

7 Specification ofi 'ettere Patent.

fiatented pr l 3,. lQQQ- Application filed November 10, 1906, Serial No. 342,808. Renewed February 2'7, 1909. Serial'NmyiSdB'tfi.

To all; whom it may, concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. MAGOWAN, a citizen of the; United States, residing in borough of Manhattan, city of New York, in thecounty of New Yorkand State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Process of Making Rubber Tires and Tubes, of which the following is a specificaw in several styles such as the so-called closedlon,v

This. invention relates to pneumatic tires for the wheels of vehicles, particularly automobiles and other conveyances which are severely used and incur great liability of tire-puncturing and consequent delay, inconvenience and expense. These tiresare made single-tube or hose-pipe tire and the detachable or inner-tube tire...that is,

a tire provided with a detachable inner tube usually having overlapping ends. The latter kind of tire is often preferred on accountof. the relative ease with which a puncture may be repaired; but it is still ditlicult, owing to the size of an automobile-tire, to manipulate the same for this purpose, and there is danger in replacing the outer cover that the parts may not be securely fastened, thereby incurring'great danger of accidental ripping off of the tire under the enormous lateral strain to which it is subjected in rapid-moving heavy automobiles.

The object of my inventionvis to simplify,

facilitate, and cheapen the means for obviating the injury arising from the puncture of the tire, so that by a simple and quick opera-v tion the tire may be restored to its normal inflated or working condition.

While my invention is adapted to many kinds of tires, including the open or so-- called detachable inner-tube tire, it has.

' werking condition than before the puncture,

After the tire is punctured, andso that the interruption to travel of the auton 1obile or vehicle is insignificant.

Since no manipulation whatever of the body of the tireisrequired, it will readily be understood why the invention is of especially greatvalue in the closed or so-called single-tube or hose-pipe tire. In carrying out my invention in its pre ferred form I provide a tire with one or more reserveor spare inner tubes, preferably three, and these are nested or con.- tailied; one within another and occupy a position opposite to the tread of the tirethat is, close to the rim side thereot-where they are not likely to be reached by anything that punctures the shoe or tread of the tire. These spare inner tubes will usually bein a, deflated condition and packed against the wall of the tire. The latter is provided with an "inflation-valve, so that it may be, inflated independently of said spare inner tubes. When the tire becomes deflated from a puncture it is only necessary to inflate one of said spare inner tubes. When the latter are nested together, the outer thereot is the first to he inflated after a puncture, and when so inflated it completely fills the bore or original chamber of the tire, and being unpunctured the tire is thereby brought at once into running condition, The first spare inner tube when so wall of the tire, the latter being thus provided with a two-ply air-tube and not being tion from a sharp device as formerly. When, however, a puncture extends not only through the tread portion of the tire, but also through the wall of said first-inflated spare lube, so. that the tire again becomes deflated, it is only necessary to attach the pump to a valve provided upon the'next innerof the spare tubes, and thereby inflate the same and the tire, and so on throughout the series of spare inner tubes, of which I preferably prdvide three, so that "the tire may continue in perfect working condition even though st lfi ering from three successive punctures. Each of the inner tubes is provided with means whereby it may be inflated independently of the other inner tubes, as by providing a separate inflation-valve connected to each tube. It will thus be-seen at not only may a ong auto e le jou intlated reinforces in some measure the inner quite so liable to leak or to suffer penetra- 25 tached, if desired. In this figure the spare ney be begun with assurance that the tire will last throughout the ourney, and not only is it unnecessary to encumber the automobile with a spare'tire, as usual, for long journeys, but itwill also be understood that a sufiicient number of spare inner tubes may be included in each tire o'overcome all the punctures that it will liable to sustain before its, tread is Worn out. Generally three or four spare inner tubes will be suflicient for this purpose.

The invention includes the provision of either a greater or smaller number of spare inner tubes than three. A I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a cross section of the lower portion of a closed or hose-pipe tire attached toa rim and provided with my improvements, the tire being shown inflated and the spare inner tubes as nested together and nearly deflated. Each of inner tubes seen at this figure is preferably endless. Fig. 2 is a view illustrating my improvements as applied to an open or detac'hable tube tire, from which "the set of inner tubes may be readily deinner tubes are shown as completely deflated and. packed againssthe rim side of the tire, and it will be understood that each of the air-tubes seen at this figure maybe provided with two closed ends in the same manner as tlie ordinary air-tube in a detachable tire. Fig. 3 illustrates one stage in the process of manufacture of nested inner tubes for a tire;

Referring more particularly to the form seen at Fig. 1, the rim of the vehicle-wheel is seen at 1,,and attached thereto is an inflated tire comprising a thickened shoe or tread portion 2, having the usual plies of fabric 3 and provided with a lining 4: of fine quality pure soft air -tigiit rubber, preferably vulcanized to the tread or main portion of the tire 2. his member 4, itwill be understood, corresponds to the usual detachable inner tube employed in the open or detachable variety of tire and may in some cases be separate from the cover or hose-pipe 2-that is, not vulcanized thereto. The main tire is inflated by means of avalve 5, having a detachable cap 6 and also pro vided with the usual back-check interior valve. (Not shown). The valve 5 communicates by a hollow stem 7 with the lined bore of the tirethat is,-with the interior of endless tube d f-whereby the tire may be inflated, the lower end of the stem 7 being 'secured to the tire by any suitable means known in this artas, for instance, by means of a soft-rubber thimble or nipple 8, having a flange 9 vulcanized to the interior of the lining 4i. lVithin said bore or main chamber of the tire, or rather within the member 4-, (which may be omitted in some cases), is a spare inner tube 10, made, preferably, of highly-yielding. air-tight pure soft rubber, said tube being preferably endless and originally occupying a( position close to the rim side of the tire-that is, at the upper portion of the tire,'as seeln at Fig. 1, which is a cross-section of that portion of the wheel which rests upon the ground. It will be seen that said spare tube 10-is located far away from the tread portion of the tire, so that it is practically out of the reach of anything which mpglft work through the tread of the tire. The spare tube 10 is illustrated as partly inflated, although when out of use said tube may be wholly deflated. It is inflatable, however,

' independently of the lining t or of the main tube 2, so that although the latter is punctured still such puncture does no prevent the immediate reinfiation of the the or the retention of the air after such inflation. The spare tube 10 is provided with an inflation-valve 11, having a cap 6 and communicating with a hollow stem-12, inserted within said stem 7 and appropriately attached to the inner tube 10. A suitable cement or healing mixture may in some instances be injected through the puncture and spread between the tube 10 and the lining 4, thereby making an additional repair to the puncture and giving better support to the tube 10 at that point. For a similar purpose as the tube 10 I provide additional expansible spare tubes 13 and 14- of substantially similar construction and both contained within the tube 10, the tube 14 being preferably contained within the tube 13, so that all the tubes, it will be- 12 and having an inflation-valve 16. The innermost tube 14 has a hollow'stem 17, to

,the top of which is attachedan inflation- "valve 18. The valves 5, l1, and 16 may be inserted within nipples 19, projecting from their respective hollow stems.

It will be understood that in using the invention in one way the valve 5 is originally employed to inflate the lined main' chamber v or bore of the main tire, the tubes 10, 13, and l l remaining out of use or deflated. 'hen the tire suffers a puncture and becomes deflated, it is only necessary to detach the cap 6 from the valve 11 and attach a pump to inflate the tube 10 until it not only expands to a nearly circular cross-section and completely fills the tire, but until any desired air-pressure is secured, so that the tire is brought up to the same working condition as before the puncture, and is, in fact, in even better condition, since it is now provided witha two-plylining which is even derstood that the cap 6 belonging to valve 5 may be removed and the back check-valve therein released bythe usual means to enable any residuum of air to escape from between the tubes 10 and at, all of such air eventually escaping through either the valve or the puncture. 7 When the tire, the lining 4, and the tube 10 all become punctured, the tire may be again reinflated by means of the valve 16 and the tube 13,, and when the latter becomes punctured the tire may be still again intiatedby means of the valve 18 and tube 14, so that except in unusual cases the tire maybe depended upon to hold the air until the tread is Worn through. Moreover, as eachspare tube is brought into use the tire becomes still more leakproof.

Referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that a number of straight tubes-say 'fourmay be inserted one within another, as at 4, 10, 13, and 14,. with all their ends .cut diagonally, so that the two ends of each tube may be brought together and a joint formed, the innermost tube being first joined, then-the next outer tube, and so on. These tubes at Fig. 3 are in a partly-curedcondition, so thatthey can be handled, and each iscoated,

.- preferably, with graphite, so as to prevent i-the'tubes from adhering to one another in the subsequent vulcanization, and also so as to enable the tubes to slip freely one upon another when in use or when being ex panded, so as to avoid liability of tearing or grinding the same; The nested valves (seen at Fig. it will be understood may be attached to the tubes readily, the 'valvehole in the outer tubes being the largest and permitting access to the inner tubes. The innermost valve-stein 17 may therefore be attached first to the tube lhthen the stem 15 to the tube 13,, and so on, and, if desired, the nipple 19 may be attached to the stems after the latter are attached to the tubes. The cover 2 of the hose-pipe tire is added before the ends at Fig. 3 are joined, and after all the ends are joined the assemblage is put in a mold for vulcanization, so that the tube 4 is preferably vulcanized to the eover 2, while the remaining tubes remain separate from one another. In vulcanization steam may be admitted within the lining-tube 4, so as to expand the tire to fit the mold, and it may also be admitted within each of the other tubes, each of which is provided inside and out with a coating of graphite or the like, or the steam may be admitted only through tube 14, thereby expanding all the ,tubcs and the tire during the vulcanization process.

Referring now to l ig. 2 it will be seen that the cover 2 is open at 2" along the entire rim sidc, so as to be detachable from the rim 1 which may bent any variety.

The outermost of the four double-ended air-- tubes, which is designated as 4, is expanded moved from the tire any time and a fresh nest of tubes substituted. It will be seen that'the valve-stems bear numerals 1, 2 3 and 4. thereby indicating the order in which the valves are to be used,- valve 1 beingused exclusively of the others until the tire suffers a puncture, and

.tubes for vehicle tires, comprising inserting three or more unvulcanized tubes one within 1 another,- joining the ends of, the innermost tube, then joining the ends of the next outer tube, and so on throughout the series, and subjecting the whole to vulcanization in a manner to keep the tubes separate from one another.

2. The process of making multipleairtube hose-pipe tires, comprising inserting several unvulcanized air-tubes one Within another and inserting all within a cover, coating the air-tubes with material to prevent their adhesion one to another, joining the ends of each tube together, beginning with the innermost tube, joining the ends of the cover, and subjecting the whole to vulcanization in a mold in a manner to keep the tubes separate from one another. v

3. The process of making multiple-airtube hose-pipe tires, comprising inserting several unvulcanized air-tubes one Within another and inserting all within .a cover, coating the ail-tubes with material to prevent their adhesion one to another, joining the ends of each tube together, beginning with the innermost tube, joining the ends of the cover, placing the whole ina. mold, and vulcanizingby means of steam admitted into the innern'iost tube in a manner to keep the tubes separate from one another.

' 4. The process of making a nest of rubber air-tubes comprising inserting one tube within another, said tubes being in a. partly unvulcanized condition, coating the tubes with material to, prevent them from. adhering to one another in the subsequent vulcanization,

. joining the ends of the innermost tube, then joining the ends of the next outer tube, and so on for the entire series, and subjecting the whole to vulcanization in a manner to keep the tubes separate from one another.

5. The process of making a nest of rubber air-tubes, comprising inserting one unvul canized tube within another, securing infiating means to the tubes, joining the endsof the tubes one after another, beginning with the innermost tube, and subjecting the tubes to vulcanization in a manner'to keep the tubes separate from one aribther.

outer tube. being in a condition to become &

- 6. The process of making multipleairtube hose-pipe tires, comprising inserting several unvuleanized air-tubes one within another, applying inflating means to said air-tubes, inserting said air-tubes within a cover, coating the air-tubes with material to prevent the radl-iesion one to another, the

vulcanized to said cover, joining the ends of each tube together, beginning Wlth' the innerinosttube, )OlIllIlg the ends of the cover and subjecting the Whole to vulcanization to keep the tubes separate from one another.

8. The process of making multiple 3 air tubes for vehicle tires, comprising inserting three or more unvuloanized tubes one Within "another, joining the ends of the innermost tube, then joining tbe ends of the next outer tube, and so on throughout the series, and subjecting the whole to vulcanization in a mold, by admitting steam into the innerinost tube in a manner to keep the tubes separate from one another. r

9. The process of making multipleairtube hose-pipe tires, comprising inserting several unvulcanized air-tubes one Within another and inserting all Within a cover, coating the air-tubes with material to prevent their adhesion one to another, joining the ends of each tube together, beginning with the innermost tube, joining the ends of the cover, and subjecting the whole to vulcanization in amold, by admitting steam into one or more of said air-tubes in a manner to'keep the tubes separate from one another.

FRANK A. MAGOWAN.

Witnesses B. C'. STIOKNEY K. FRANKFORT. 

